Harry Potter and the Year of Action
by Eric-Potter
Summary: Alternative to Order of the Phoenix. Harry's enemy and his girlfriend. Chapter 7 up now!
1. An Old Friend

This is my first story ever, so please enjoy. Discalimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. Except those seven indviduals who are the Backup Gryffindor Quidditch Team. This story has some big violence and "romantic" scenes, so if you're easily offended, go away. One note: I can't remember the official title of Ms. Figg, the Dursley's neighbor, so I refer to her as Ms. Figg in the story, if you wish to correct me, put it in the review. Thank You.  
  
-----------------------Harry Potter and the Year of Action------------------ -- ------------------------------------------------------------- By: John Swoboda ------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------Rated: R for Strong Sexual Content, Violence, and Language------------------------------------------- ____________________________________________________________________________  
_____________ Chapter 1: An old friend  
  
Harry was having the best summer of his life, and he hadn't even left for the Burrow.  
  
Half-way through his first month home, "Aunt" Marge had fallen ill, and, to Harry's dismay, Uncle Vernon said they had to go and stay with her until she felt better. But, as the beggining of his streak of luck, Uncle Vernon pulled him aside a half-hour later to say "Boy, you listen to me, you're not coming with us, the sight of you could send Aunt Marge to an early grave" Harry knew this wasn't at all true, the mere sight of Harry filled Marge with glee for the simple fact that she could make fun of him the entire he was within earshot. "So we're sending you to a place you haven't been to in a long time, Ms. Figg's, down the street. And don't try any of that funny business, or I'll have your head on a plate." Harry thought it was funny that Uncle Vernon was so afraid of magic that he couldn't even refer to it by name, he had to call it 'funny business'. But this brought to Harry a new thought: He was going to Ms. Figg's house, the place with the cats and the cabbage smell. He hadn't been there since, well, since he had gone to Hogwarts.  
  
The next day, The Dursley's were all packed into their new car; the old one broke when Dudley sat on the hood. Harry walked down the street with Uncle Vernon following him down the street to make sure he actually went to Ms. Figg's House.  
  
As soon as he walked in, he saw them speed away, leaving him alone with Ms. Figg.  
  
"Harry, don't look so scared." Said Ms. Figg.  
  
"It doesn's smell like cabbage." Harry said, before he could stop himself.  
  
"No, I've gotten rid of all my cats, and the smell seemed to go with them. I think it was one cat in particular; a very ornery tabby cat with bowed legs, and a a face that was smashed from all the times that it chased a mouse into a wall, and actually tried to go through the wall itself. That cat was always a little slow on the uptake, but it could tell the nature of people better than anything I've ever seen. I left it at a mag.........a pet shop, so some lucky kid could get it.  
  
"Oh, okay. So why did you decide to get rid of them all?" Harry asked, feeling more comfortable than he ever had in her house.  
  
"Well, when I broke my arm triping over one a couple of years ago, I decided that they were too much trouble and I just sent them all away, and that was that."  
  
Suddenly a voice called from across the house "Arabella! Where's your milk?"  
  
"It's behind the Bert.........the jelly beans on the top shelf of the fridge!"  
  
"Your first name is Arabella?" Harry aked. He knew he recognized that name from somewhere, but where?  
  
"Yes, uh, sorry, I forgot to tell you that my sister Hermione is staying over for a few weeks."  
  
"That's funny, my friend's name is Hermione."  
  
"Oh, do you have a girlfriend Harry?"  
  
"No, she's just my friend."  
  
"Said without blushing, that's a good boy."  
  
"Well, thanks, but it's realy true, I believe it's Ron she fancies."  
  
"A Weas.........Uh, Who's Ron?"  
  
"You seem to be stuttering a lot, what's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing, I've uh, I've a cold, yes, yes, a nasty cold."  
  
"A cold that makes you stutter?"  
  
"Yes, a cold that makes me stutter, now just tell me about your friend Ron."  
  
"Alright, calm down. I met him when I went to.......secondary school a few years ago, and we've been best friends ever since."  
  
It suddenly occured to Harry. "So how's Remus?"  
  
"Oh, he's oka......Damnit!"  
  
"Ha! I knew it! Arabella Figg! Dumbledor sent away for you at the end of last year!"  
  
"Oh, you knew about that, did you?"  
  
"Why did you try to hide it from me?"  
  
"You'd be safer if you didn't know."  
  
"Know what? Are you here to protect me, because I'm not a child, I can make it on my own."  
  
"Not with You-know-who out there."  
  
"Just say Voldemort, it won't hurt you."  
  
"Alright then, Voldemort" A slight shiver ran through her body as she said it "is after you, and if you go out there alone, you could get killed."  
  
"But how can you help me? Dumbledor is the only wizard who can stand up to Volemort, right?"  
  
"Yes, but your wands are brothers, and he can't use his to kill you, so he has to sen one of his death eaters to do it, and those we can handle."  
  
"But what if he kills you and then has one of his men try to kil me, what then?"  
  
"That's a risk we were prepared to take. It all would have been much simpler had you not figured out my little secret."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, you might try to get away now."  
  
"No more so than I would have if I still thought you were a muggle."  
  
"Yes, I guess that makes sense."  
  
"By the way, your sister, is she a, a, muggle?"  
  
"Why, no, in fact, she's not even my sister, she's-"  
  
She was cut short as a cry from the next room grabbed their attention.  
  
"Harry, Harry Potter!" Came the voice of Doris Crockford  
  
"Oh, no , not you."  
  
"You two know eachother?" Asked Arabella  
  
"In a manner of speaking. I met her the first day I was with Hagrid in the Leaky Cauldron."  
  
"So my cover would have been blown anyway."  
  
"Yes, it would have."  
  
"I'm so glad to meet you." Doris jutted in  
  
"You've already met me." Harry said  
  
"Oh, yes I'm sorry, do forgive me, Mr. Potter."  
  
"Call me Harry." He said, feeling a bit foolish, and more than a bit agitated  
  
"Harry, would you like some lunch?"  
  
"What do you have?"  
  
"Harry, be serious. I'm a witch, you can have anything."  
  
"Oh, yeah." 


	2. A Reunion

Chapter 2: A Reunion  
  
The summer passed without incident, until, about three weeks before Harry was going to go shopping for the school year, a knock came that caught him by surprise. He opened the door to see........a giant black dog.  
  
"Sirius!" He yelled.  
  
It was then that he noticed a leash leading from his neck around a corner. The holder of the leash stepped out from behind the corner.  
  
"Lupin!" He screamed, completely overjoyed at the sight ofhis father's best friends.  
  
"Harry, not so loud." Lupin said  
  
"Sorry about that. What are you guys doing here?"  
  
"Where else is he going to go?" he said, indicating Sirius.  
  
Harry shut the door and Sirius imidiately turned to human form.  
  
"Harry, How are you?" Sirius asked, obviously concerned  
  
"Don't worry about me, how are you?"  
  
"You won't believe this. Three weeks after the Triwizard incident, Wormtail showed up at the Ministry and confesed to everything he's done. I'm off the hook!"  
  
"That's great! But, if you're off the hook, why were in dog form when came here?"  
  
"Well, although I'm cleared by the ministry, people still don't know it, so I'm still in danger of vigilantes."  
  
"Why hasn't anything come out in the Daily Prophet?"  
  
"Think about it, Harry. Wormtail is celebrated as a hero, they wouldn't want to tarnish that memory. Plus, it looks pretty bad on them that they put away the wrong man for thirteen years."  
  
"Well, I guess that makes sense."  
  
"Harry, who's at the door?" Arabella called from the next room. But she didn't need an answer, she was already coming in anyway. "Sirius! Lupin!" She cried with almost as much excitement as Harry.  
  
"Arabella! How are you?" Lupin said, obviously feeing left out of the previous conversation.  
  
"Great! I'm glad you guys are okay! Sirius, congratulations on your pardon."  
  
"Thanks, Arabella, I hope we didn't ruin your secret."He said, with a glance at Harry  
  
"No, No, he figured that out on the first day he was here.  
  
"He always was a smart one." Lupin said  
  
So, after a few hours of catching up and a pleasant dinner, Harry brought up the question that had been bugging him for a while.  
  
"So, why exactly are you here?"  
  
"Well, Harry, That's our surprise." Said Lupin "Dumbledor received this letter and gave it to us for delivery."  
  
He handed Harry a piece of folded parchment and Harry opened it. It was a letter from Victor Krum. He began to read.  
  
"Dear Professor Dumbledor, I do not know how to reach Harry Potter, so I want to ask you to convey this message to him. The Quidditch World Cup is Being played in Ireland this year, and I am inviting all of the participants of the Triwizard Tournament to attend with me. We will have box seats and I will pay for Harry and the Witch or Wizard that will serve as his escort. Please tell him to respnd by owl post as soon as possible. Thank You."  
  
"Isn't that great?" Sirius said.  
  
"I'm going to the World Cup again? That's not just great, that's unbelievable! Which of you is taking me?"  
  
"I am" Said Sirius "I bought a new broom a few weeks ago. You and I can go tommorow. Is that okay?"  
  
"Are you kidding, that's fantastic! What kind of broom did you get? I hope my Firebolt didn't deplete all of your funds."  
  
"Thanks for worrying, but no, it didn't, in fact, I got another Firebolt for myself."  
  
"How can you afford something like that? You didn't steal it, did you?"  
  
"O f course not. You'd be surprised how many times a man can turn himself into the authorities for money, only to be taken away in dog form a day later."  
  
"How very clever. But you can't do that anymore now that you've been cleared, can you?"  
  
"You don't know how many muggle authorities there are that still think I'm guilty."  
  
"Oh, you are a sly one, aren't you?"  
  
"I sure am. But enough about that." He said, catching Arabella's annoyed glare. "Will you be able to take your things with you? After the game, we're going to the Weasley's for the rest of the summer."  
  
"You can help me by putting a feather-light charm on my trunk for me, after that, I can just tie it to my broom."  
  
"Wonderful, but it's not quite time for that yet, so let's just have some fun."  
  
So for the rest of the night, they played exploding snap and wizard chess. And when Arabella found an old muggle game called Risk, they made the game more interesting by making the pieces come to life.  
  
"I think it's time to go to bed." Said Lupin  
  
"You're only saying that because I just obliterated the last of your Australian stronghold." Sirius said, looking happier and more child-like than Harry had ever seen him.  
  
"No, it's because it's half-past eleven already, and you two have got to start early tommorow."  
  
"That's true, I guess. Harry, truce?" He said, refering to the large mass of troops on either side of the Asian border.  
  
"Truce, Sirius. Good night, everybody."  
  
And with that they all headed to bed, with the exception of the two girls, who had fallen asleep after the sixth game of risk. 


	3. A trip to remember

Chapter 3:A trip to remember  
  
Early the next morning, Harry and Sirius woke to the smell of bacon.  
  
"Are you two finally up?" Came Arabella's voice from the kitchen.  
  
"How long have you been up?" Asked Harry.  
  
"Two hours, I was going to wake you, but you just looked so precious."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You do know we have to pack" Sirius chuckled.  
  
"Don't worry about it, I packed for you. Harry, your trunk is in the living room. Sirius, I've packed you a bag with some clothes and food for the trip."  
  
"What abou t my money?"  
  
"Don't worry about it, I took what I needed and left the rest in the sack."  
  
"Oh, ha ha, very funny. Where is it?"  
  
"Your bag and your money are on top of Harry's trunk. Now have some breakfast, the both of you."  
  
So Harry and Sirius sat down for a wonderful breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast, and jam. And it was all very good until Sirius looked at his watch.  
  
"Oh, Harry, we have to go, we're going ot be late. Get yout broom out of the closet."  
  
"I've just had a thought, Sirus. How could you have brought a broom in dog form?"  
  
"Like this." He whipped out his wand in his left hand and a twig in his right. "Gorgio" he said and the twig grew into his Firebolt.  
  
"That's very clever."  
  
"Why thank you, now let me help you with that." He said, indicating Harry's trunk.  
  
He preformed a series of charms, in which Harry's trunk became feather- light, very small, and magicaly bonded to the front of his broom.  
  
"Now get going, the both of you." Arabella said  
  
"Alright, already, we're going." Sirius said  
  
"Goodbye, Arabella." Harry said  
  
"Goodbye Harry!" Doris called from the kitchen  
  
**Forgot she was here didn't you?**  
  
"Goodbye Doris!" Harry yelled back  
  
Harry and Sirius jumped on their brooms and shot off into the sky, going straight above the clouds to keep cover.  
  
It was one of the most exciting trips of Harry's life, possibly better than his first ride to Hogwarts. They raced, but it was useless, since they were both on Firebolts, and they were both equally matched in experience. They played a game of sky weaver, a game they made up, in which they flew in and out of a gaggle of geese. They make only two stops; one as a break before having to fly over the ocean, and once in London to get some money from Gringott's.  
  
"How much did you get, Sirius?" Harry asked after their stop in Diagon Alley.  
  
"All of it."  
  
"Why all of it?"  
  
"There's lots to buy at a World Cup match."  
  
Harry knew that. He had a personal experience with the amount of things they sold at the match.  
  
"You know what I'm going to get?" Harry said  
  
"What's that, Harry?"  
  
"I'm going to get little figurines of all of the players, so I can imitate a quidditch match perfectly."  
  
"That sounds like a great thing to have for practice at school."  
  
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it."  
  
"Look at that. The Irish coastline." They had just come up on a beautiful beach,and Harry was surprised to see Sirius start to angle down towards it.  
  
"Sirius, we can't land, people will see us."  
  
"Harry, you didn't use our time int he sky to look around, there isn't a single person within three miles of here."  
  
"Well, if your sure."  
  
"I am"  
  
"Okay"  
  
And with that, they landed.  
  
"How are supposed to get there if we aren't flying?"  
  
"We get there" He started down the beach while he said this, and then stopped deadand picked up a pierced floatie. "With this. Hold on to your broom, Harry."  
  
Harry felt that familiar tup behind his navel as he swireled around and around. Finally, just as he started to feel sick, they stopped.  
  
"Here we are, Harry, the World Cup." 


	4. Quidditch world cup

Chapter 4: The Quditch World Cup  
  
The First thing Harry noticed was that the field in front of the stadium was nothing like last year's. Last year they at least made an attempt at secrecy. This time, there were absolutely no measures to subdue the magic being shown. People were playing their own games of Quidditch, venders were apparating all over the place, there were even small groups people showing eachother novelty tricks and toys. Harry talked to the first vender he saw and bought fourteen miniature Fireblots and figurines of every player. As a bonus that came only after buting the complete set, the Wizard selling the items gave him a case containing a mini Quidditch Pitch, a small box containing tiny versions of Quidditch balls, and a complimentary referee.  
  
"Harry, that's some nice stuff you have there." Came a familar voice from behind him.  
  
"Proffesor Dumbledor!" Harry shoutd with glee as he saw the face of Hogwart's best headmaster.  
  
"Yes, yes, I've come to this match to talk to you." His expression suddenly became very serious. "Harry, the letter that you recieved did not come from Viktor Krum, it came from Voldemort."  
  
"What?" Harry was shocked.  
  
"Luckily we found out his plans soon and ruined them completely before he could do anything."  
  
"So did you catch him?"  
  
"No, we had him cornered and he escaped with the help of his death eaters."  
  
"Oh, no. Well, how have your plans gone?"  
  
"Well, Hagrid and Madame Maxime have considerable success in coaxing the giants to join our side, altough there are still a few of them who would rather stay in the mountains. Fudge has himself seen evidence to the exsistence of Voldemort and has relenquished control of Azkaban from the Dementors. And as you have seen for yourself, I do have most of the old gang back together."  
  
"Sounds like everything is in order, but if Voldemort sent the letter,then how are we to see the game?" Asked Sirius  
  
"Don't worry about that boys, I have here, three box tickets for the game." Dumbledor replied.  
  
"You're coming to?" Harry asked excitedly.  
  
"Of course I am, you don't think I would leave you alone, do you?"  
  
"Good point." Harry said, obviously over the obsession of not having to be protected.  
  
So the went into the stadium, which had none of the grandure of the last one Harry had seen, and took their seats. But it wasn't even two minutes in when something horrible happened. Voldemort came into the top box where Dumbledor, Sirius, and Harry were. He was disguised at first, but when harry jumped up to see a race for the snitch, he reacted by immidiately throwing away his cloak.  
  
"Avada Kedavra!" He shouted. But Dumbledor was to quick.  
  
He hadn't even finished his spell when Dumbledor shouted "Retexo!" And a shot of white light came out of his wand to counter the green light of Voldemort's. Voldemort was caught off gaurd by the unkown counter-curse, and fled the box with a dozen death eaters. Even Sirius was surprised by what happened next.  
  
Dumbledor was out the door of the box in a flash and before they knew it, he was back, with three death eaters in tow. Harry wondered how he had done it, until he realized the familiar funny hoping of the Death Eaters.  
  
"You put the leg-locker curse on them?" Harry asked.  
  
"Yes, Harry, the most effective spells are sometimes the simplest. Now, onto you three." His demeanor changed completely as he turned to his three prisoners.  
  
"We won't say a word."The second second, and obviously bravest of them said. "I'll die before I sell out the master."  
  
"I think, my talkative friend, that this will help loosen your lips." He pulled out a large bottle of Veritaserum.  
  
The middle Death Eater closed his mouth immidiately.  
  
"I see your going to make me do it the hard way." He held his wand a few inches away from the Death Eater's face "Apertum Oris!" His mouth snapped open and he was obviously fighting it, but to no avail. Dumbledor poured in a substantial amount of Veritaserum. He then waved his wand and the man had control of his mouth once more.  
  
"I told you I won't say a word!" Harry was amazed someone could put up that much resistance to the serum.  
  
"A little more help on the subject, Sirius?" Dumbledor asked.  
  
"Well, I don't know what I can do. Wait, I remember now."  
  
"On the count of three, then?" Dumbledor said  
  
"Alright,One, two, Veritas Denarro!"  
"One, two, Veritas Denarro!" They both shouted at the same time, and twin bolts of blue light hit the man in the chest.  
  
"Now, perhaps you can help us." Dumbledor calmly said, with a fire in his eyes that made Harry very grateful that he was on the side of good.  
  
"Yes I'll tell you anything." he said, completely defeated by the spell's power.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked  
  
"Lucius Malfoy." Harry was surprised and delighted at the sound of that.  
  
"And who are you friends here?"  
  
"Crabbe and Goyle."  
  
"What were you doing here?"  
  
"We came to kill Potter."  
  
"Who is we?"  
  
"Me, Crabbe, Goyle, The Master, and nine others."  
  
"Who are the other nine?"  
  
"I don't know, he doesn't let us know who else is in a group at any given time."  
  
Harry caught a glimpse of something. The two paralyzed captives that had been left in the corner were trying to crawl away. He reacted quickly.  
  
"Petrificus Totalus! Petrificus Totalus!" He shouted at the two men, who immidately locked up and fell to the floor.  
  
"Nice work, Harry." said Sirius, who had been to absorbed in the interogation to notice anything else.  
  
"Yes, thank you Harry." said Dumbledor, then he turned back to the subject of his inquiry. "Where is Voldemort hiding?"  
  
"Why would he hide? He has nothing to fear."  
  
"Fine, then, where is he staying?"  
  
"Do you really think he would be stupid enough to stay in one place for more than a week?"  
  
"Where is he staying now?"  
  
"I din't know, he was suppose to find a new place today."  
  
"Professor Dumbledor" Harry interupted  
  
"Yes Harry?"  
  
"May I ask a him a question?"  
  
"Go ahead, Harry."  
  
"How can Vodemort be killed?"  
  
"Killed? He can't be killed, no one ca--"  
  
"Then how can he be destroyed?" Harry broke in  
  
"That's a different question altogether, now isn't it?" His expression changed to one of complete detestment. "Don't you think I've tryed to figure it out? He knows, but he won't tell anyone, not one single person. I've tryed to figure it out, I've tryed with all my being, but it's impossible if you don't have a knowlege of the old magice like he does."  
  
"Why on Earth would you want to destroy your master?" Harry asked, more than a little confused  
  
"Haven't you ever wandered why you are so much like Voldemort, when you should be complete opposites?"  
  
"I can't say that I haven't."  
  
"When Voldemort tried to kill you, and you survived, the spell rebounded on him, killing him and leaving only a weak spirit, but all his powers left him and found a new vessel, you. You are as powerful as Voldemort himself, only lacking the knowlege of the powers you posses. This is why Voldemort fears only two people. You and Dumbledor."  
  
"So you think that if you destroy Voldemort, you would have all his powers?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"But I still don't understand why he fears me, I'm still vulnerable to the killing curse."  
  
"You don't know, do you? Why do you think he spent all that time hunting down your parents? Why do you think you have such a special bond with Dumbledor over there? His Ancestor is the Great Slytherin, yours is Gryffindor. Gryffindor was the only person who could destroy Slytherin, therefor, Gryffindor's heir would be the only person who could destroy Slytherin's heir, provided they were full blood."  
  
"So that means............my mom wasn't a muggle-born? And....."  
  
"Say hello to grandpa Dumbledor."  
  
"It's true, Harry." Dumbledor said. "My grandaughter was Lily Potter."  
  
"Oh, man." Harry sat stunned for the rest of the day. He didn't move when the authorities came to take away their captives. He didn't move when an Irish Chaser went off course and flew right into the box. He didn't even move when they anounced that he had won a large sack of gold in their random seat pick. Finally, he talked. "Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"It was safer this way, trust me."  
  
"So am I in danger now?"  
  
"No, now that we understand so much of why Voldemort is after you, we can keep you better protected."  
  
"Or you can keep us better protected." Sirius chimed in.  
  
"Now, Sirius, don't talk like that." But there something in his voice that made Harry think that would someday be the case.  
  
"Okay, let's think of happier things, like what you're going to do with your winnings."  
  
Harry then looked in the seat next to him and realized how much gold he had actually won.  
  
"This is enough to buy the whole team new brooms." was the first thing to come out of his mouth.  
  
"That's a very selfless thought, Harry." Sirius said, with a hint of pride in his voice.  
  
"Harry!" Came a familiar voice from the door.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley?"  
  
She ran in and hugged him in that worried, protective mother way that always embarased him.  
  
"Hello, Harry." Came the calm voice of Mr. Weasley.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Sirius asked.  
  
"The whole ministry was alerted when the gatekeeper saw Voldemort leaving, and even though my department has nothing to do with handling him, She convinced me to come to see if Harry was okay." He said, motioning towards Mrs. Weasley. In the back of Harry's mind, there was a celebration of the fact that Mr. Wealey wasn't afraid to say Voldemort anymore.  
  
"Well, Arthur, you can never be to careful."  
  
"Well, Molly, he's been fine every time you've woried about him."  
  
"Well, what about the time he entered that dreadful chamber below the school? He was nearly poisoned to death!"  
  
"Yes, I will admit that a few times have been alright, but by the time you get to him, he's always just fine."  
  
"Well, let's just ask Harry. Harry, do you think I'm overprotective of you?"  
  
"Not at all, Mrs. Weasley." He gave a secretive nod to Mr. Weasley that made him laugh.  
  
"What's so funny, Arthur?"  
  
"Nothing, nothing."  
  
An official-looking wizard came into the box  
  
"Well, he's not out in the camps." He said to Dumbledor  
  
"Then he won't be anywhere. I guess he's not coming back for his Death Eaters."  
  
"It's just as well, I guess. No need to tell the people in the people out there, it would just cause a panic." A second wizard said.  
  
"I guess there's nothing left here for us to do." Said the first wizard.  
  
"Let's get going, Bones."  
  
"Goodbye, Albus."  
  
"Goodbye, Greg." Dumbledor said  
  
They turned and walked quickly out of the box.  
  
"Um, Professor Dumbledor?"  
  
"Yes, Harry?"  
  
"Do you think that, since the summer is almost over, that-"  
  
"Yes, Harry, you can stay with the Weasley's. That is, if you don't mind, Arthur."  
  
"Of course not. Harry's always welcome at the Burrow."  
  
So after the game, which the Weasley's got stay and watch (even though Harry, Sirius, and Mr. Weasley spent more time playing with the miniature quiditch game than watching the real one), they headed off.  
  
"Goodbye, Harry."  
  
"Goodbye, Sirius. See you after the summer, Professor Dumbledor."  
  
"So. Mr. Weasley, how did you get here?"  
  
"We bought a new SUV, it fits us better than any other car we could have had."  
  
Harry felt a pang of guilt for the car he had lost in the forbiden forest at Hogwarts. But their new car was much better. It could fit all of the Weasleys, even if Bill, Charlie, and Harry were all riding with them. Harry had to laugh to himself when he saw Mr. Weasley fingering a small button on the back of the steering wheel. But Harry wasn't the only one who noticed.  
  
"No, Arthur!"  
  
"But, Molly, just this once."  
  
"No, Arthur, I told you, you can only use it when we go over the ocean."  
  
"Okay, Okay. I won't use it until we cross the ocean."  
  
Harry had to ask. "Does it have invisibility?"  
  
"Of course it does. And this is improved. That last one was a little shaky, and it couldn't do well at high altitudes, but this one is pressurised and stablized for maximum efficiency."  
  
"Oh, Arthur, you're so cute when you get all excited over your inventions."  
  
"Well, thank you, dear." 


	5. The Weasley's

chapter 5: The Weasley's  
  
The rest of the ride when pretty peacefully, and it turned out that the invisibilty feature did work better than the last one. It was a few hours later when they arrived at the Burrow, and it looked just the same as Harry remembered it, except for one thing.  
  
"Is there another level on your house?"  
  
"Yes there is, Harry, that's your room." Mrs. Weasley said.  
  
"You gave me my own room?"  
  
"We figured that if you came to spend every summer over here, you might as well have your own room."  
  
"Well, I hope it wasn't to much trouble."  
  
"Of course not, Harry."  
  
"I had alot of fun." Mr. Weasley said with a childish grin.  
  
Harry went inside and went immediately up to Ron's room, where he was sitting on his bed, playing chess with himself. Harry picked up his tiny trunk, which no one had brought back to normal yet, and threw at the back of his head.  
  
"Ow! Fred, I'm gonna" He turned around "Harry! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, that's a warm welcome." Harry said, acting offended. "I think I'll just get my things and go." He picked up his tiny trunk and turned towards the door.  
  
"Oh, shut up, Harry." Ron said  
  
"So, what's going on?"  
  
"I was just going out of my mind with boredom."  
  
"Well, here's an idea; let's play Quidditch."  
  
"Na, me on that old pile of junk and you on that Firebolt, it wouldn't be any fun."  
  
"Not real Quidditch. Hold on a second, I still need my trunk to be enlarged. Where's Percy?"  
  
"He's at the ministry,trying to act important."  
  
"Oh, I see. Where would your mum be?"  
  
He took a quick glance out the window. "She's in the garden."  
  
"Thanks, I'll be right back." with that he shot off down the stairs and into the Weasley's small garden.  
  
"Harry, slow down, why are you running?"  
  
"No reason, I just need you to help me with this." He held up his tiny trunk.  
  
"Oh, no problem. Gorgio!" The trunk grew to it's normal size. "Now, would you like me to levitate up to your room."  
  
"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." He still had to grin at the thought of 'his' room.  
  
He ran back up to his room, grabbed his miniature Quidditch case out of his trunk, and headed back to Ron's room.  
  
"Look at this." He opened up the case and pu t down the Pitch and started to put out the players.  
  
"Harry, this is wonderful!" Ron said in an amazing tone.  
  
As soon as Harry put out the fourteen tiny Firebolts, the first string of each team grabbed them and started playing furiously. Harry had no idea how close to real life they were going to act.  
  
Ron and Harry sat and watched them play for hours, zipping in out of their intricate forms, diving for the snitch, scoring points, it was all amazing. When time ofr dinner came around, and Mrs. Weasley called the down, they wonderd if they could leave them alone.  
  
"Harry, can you stop them?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't know, this is the first time I've played with them." Harry responded, baffled by their situation.  
  
"Well, try something, we've got to go eat."  
  
"Um, er, STOP!" He said, rather forcefully,to the tiny players. And to his astonishment, they all landed, put away the balls, and climbed into the case.  
  
"Well, that was simple." He said, closing the box and putting it under his arm. "Let's go eat."  
  
He had a pretty good week. Nothing very eventful happened, except once, when Mr. Weasley came home and said that Voldemort had been spotted in London, but had escaped before anything could be done. Before he knew it, they were off to Diagon Alley, where his real plans for his winnings could unfold.  
  
When getting to Diagon Alley by floo powder, people arrived in Eeylop's Owl Emporium, and Harry was the first one there. He left immidiately for the Quidditch shop. Ron arrived fourth, right after Fred and George.  
  
"Fred? George? Harry? Where did everyone go?"  
  
"They all headed of to the Quidditch shop, if I'm not mistaken." came a voice across the dark room.  
  
"Uh, thanks." Ron said,and was immidiately off to follow.  
  
He found Fred, George, and Harry all standing around a new broom in the middle of the store. A large sign showed what was so amazing.  
  
LightingBolt  
From the makers of the Firebolt, this new broom  
comes equipped with a higher top speed, a lower turning  
radius, a quicker starting speed, and a more rider-friendly hold.  
(For price, ask at counter.)  
  
"Wow." All four of them said in unison.  
  
"Mr. Potter?" a man said.  
  
"Oh, sorry, I got distracted."  
  
"I'm sure you did. Here is your broom."  
  
The man handed Harry a brand new Firebolt.  
  
"Harry," Ron said, sounding a little ashamed "You broke your Firebolt?"  
  
"Of course not, Ron, this is yours." He handed a totally amazed Ron the broom. "You're sure to get on the house team now."  
  
"Harry, I can't accept this, it's way to expensive."  
  
"Don't worry about it, I won extra money at the World Cup, and with the new LightniongBolt out, it's a whole lot cheaper. I even have enough money left over to buy the whole team new brooms."  
  
"No need for that over here, Harry." Said George. "We've got ourselves covered." Fred came up behind him and handed him a long package, holding one for himself. "These are our new Firebolts."  
  
"What?" harry was astonished "How can you afford Firebolts?"  
  
"Simple." Said Fred. "Weasley's Wizard Weezes. It's become very successful, and we're quite the wealthy ones now."  
  
Harry had a thought. "Wait, if I'm not buying you two new brooms, then. Ron, do you a spare piece of parchment and a quill?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, here." He pulled out an old paper he had scribbled something on and a sugar-quill.  
  
"Ew, do you have any other kind of quill?"  
  
"No, Fred, do you have one?"  
  
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, take it." He handed them a quill, obviously distracted by something.  
  
Harry scribbled some calculations down on his parchment and gave a happy cry.  
  
"Without paying for them, instead of buying five Nimbus 2001's, I can buy three Firebolts!"  
  
"Harry, do you realize what this means?" Ron said. "A whole team of Firebolts! We'll be unstoppable!"  
  
And they headed of to King's Cross Station in high spirits. 


	6. Return to King's Cross

Chapter 6: Return to King's Cross  
  
When they arrived at the station, there were at least a hundred witches and wizards just casually standing outside platform 9 3/4. Harry saw Seamus Finnagan, another Gryffindor 5th year and went to talk to him.  
  
"Hi, Seamus."  
  
"Hey, Harry, what's up?"  
  
"I should ask you the same thing, why isn't anyone going in?"  
  
"The gate's been blocked."  
  
"What? How?"  
  
"I don't know, but someone has said Dumbledor is coming to clear it up."  
  
"Well I guess that's better." Harry said, feeling a little depressed at the thought of having to stand around with all these muggles just staring at them. But he did cheer up a bit when he thought of what the Dursley's would do if they caught sight of such a collaboration of magical folk.  
  
When Harry saw Ron staring in utter shock at something coming towards them, he thought for a fleeting second that it might be Voldemort coming to kill them all, but when he looked in the same direction he saw the explanation; a tall and quite beautiful girl walking toward them. She was obviously a witch, judging by the Hogwarts trunk on her trolley, but there was something familiar about the bushy hair, and the bow-legged cat.  
  
"Hermione?" Ron said in complete disbelief.  
  
"Hi Ron, Harry." Ron then did something strange. He held himself up as if he were trying to impress someone, and he also seemed to take pride in the fact that Hermione had said his name first.  
  
"Hello, Hermione." Ron said, in an unusually deep voice.  
  
"Why isn't anyone going in?" she asked, laughing a little at Ron's foolish behavior. She touched Harry's arm, and was pleased at the reaction it brought about from Ron.  
  
"Well, there's a slight problem with the gate, but it's under control, and someone will be out to fix it soon." He said, with a very knowlegable air.  
  
Suddenly an old homeless man walked up behind them, covered in old, tatered robes,and walked straight passed them onto the barrier between gates 9 and 10. He put his hand up on the wall and left it there for a few seconds. He then let his hand pass completely into the wall just before stepping completely through himself. Immidiately the first twenty or so people stepped through, gaurded by the mass of people gathered around them. Eventually, Harry and the rest were able to step through. The old hobo was standing next to the gate, assuring himself that all were passing through safely. His hood was pulled back to reveal--  
  
"Dumbledor, thank you." said Mrs. Weasley  
  
"It's no problem, Molly." He said with a cheerful tone. "There was a slight mixup. The gate was set to let people pass tomorrow, not today. I simply had to reset the spell for today."  
  
"Well, it was very nice of you. Will you be riding the train with the rest of the students?"  
  
"No, I'm going to apparate to Hogsmead station as soon as the train leaves with everyone safely aboard."  
  
"Oh, well, I guess that's okay."  
  
"Yes, I'm sure it is." He said, with his amiable chuckle.  
  
They found an empty compartment and stored their things. Harry immidiately went down the train in search of the witch with the snack trolley so he colud get some pumpkin juice for his seemingly unquenchable thirst. about half-way down, he saw Draco Malfoy sitting in a compartment with Crabbe and Goyle, looking completely dejected and not at all himself.  
  
"Draco?" Harry asked, feeling a little sorry for the wretched figure.  
  
"What do you want, Potter?" he said, with a hint of hatred, but not near as much as he usually reserved for just Harry.  
  
"Nothing, I guess. just wondering why you were looking so....so.....not you." He said. Then he remembered what had transpired at the World Cup, and realized that Draco's Father was now locked away in Azkaban. Draco seemed to notice Harry's realization on his face.  
  
"Oh, figured it out, have you?" With a lot more of that old hatred that made Harry wonder why he had ever felt pity for him. "My father is in wizard prison because of you, Potter."  
  
"No, Malfoy, he's in prison because he sided with the wrong wizard, and you know it!" Harry retorted, with the same amount of hatred, but at least a more controlled anger.  
  
"Potter, you have no idea the pain I can-" He stopped short, seeing the fire in Harry's eyes that matched so closely the fire everyone had, in the past, seen in Dumbledor's.  
  
"Malfoy, you have no idea the pain I can withstand. If you want to threaten me, why don't you do when you're ready to stand up to the words you put out. Otherwise, you keep your mouth shut." He said in such a commanding tone that Malfoy closed his mouth tight, and gave a repremanding look to Goyle when he acted as if he were going to hit Harry.  
  
"Have a nice day." Harry said, and kept walking. He went another six or seven compartments until he found the witch with the trolley and got what he needed. Then he headed back to his friends, with a strange pleasure at the fact that Malfoy had closed and locked his door. But, as he thought about on his way back, it was better not to go down the road of threats and overpowerment; it was better to be on the fair side.  
  
As he came up to his compartment, he noticed the door was shut,and there was a strange sound coming from within. It sounded like grunting and ruffling. He thought there was a fight, or something. He opened te door to see a very ruffled Ron and Hermione sitting across from eachother, with a look that said they did something wrong.  
  
"You two haven't been fighting, have you?" Harry said, apparently completely oblivious.  
  
"No, not exactly." Hermione said, a little amused by Harry's ignorance.  
  
"Well, whatever it was, stop it. I have some important things to tell you."  
  
"Okay, Harry, let's talk." said Hermione, going into the serious mood she always used when talking about 'important' things with Harry.  
  
He then launched into the full story of the events that transpired at the Quidditch World Cup, including teh phony letter that got him there.  
  
"Let's start with the letter." Hermione said, trying as she always did to make sense of everything that happened to Harry. "Why did he send it through Dumbledor?"  
  
"I think that was the only true part of the letter. He really didn't know how to reach me. He had to send it through Dumbledor. But why didn't he figure out that it was fake?"  
  
"I think he did." Hermione said, as a thought occured to her. "He knew it was fake, but he sent it anyway with Sirius and Lupin so they could deliver it without being followed. Then Sirius went with you to provide protection along the way. I'm sure that when you were at the match, there was more protection than just Dumbledor with you. They just got past it, and Dumbledor was their last line of defense." Once again, she had made perfect sense of everything.  
  
"Yeah, that does sound good. I'm just glad that Dumbledor has come up with anti-Death spell charm." Harry said  
  
"I'm not so sure he did." Said Hermione. "What was it he said to you about how he caught the Death Eaters?"  
  
"He said 'sometimes the simplest spells are the most effective' or something like that."  
  
"And what was the spell he used to counter the Death spell?"  
  
"Reteso, Reteska, something like that."  
  
"Retexo?"  
  
"Yes. That's exactly it. How did you know?"  
  
"Because, it's a very simple spell. It's just a spell-reversal charm."  
  
"No, it can't be." Harry said, in disbelief that such a simple charm could undo so devestating a curse.  
  
"Yes, it can. Watch. Here, Ron, you try to hit me with a full body bind."  
  
"Okay, then." He stood up and pointed his wand at Hermione's legs. He got distracted staring at her legs.  
  
"Ron!" Hermione yelled, a little embarased.  
  
"Right, sorry. Uh, Petrificus Totalus!" He yelled  
"Retexo!" She yelled, and a silver light came out of her wandand disappeared half-way to Ron's wand, apparantly countering Ron's spell, and she was never affected.  
  
"But his light was white." Harry said  
  
"Well Dumbledor's a bit more powerful than I am, isn't he?"  
  
"Well, yes, I guess that makes sense." Harry said.  
  
Suddenly there came a knock at the door.  
  
"Hello?" Harry said, not wanting to open the door to anyone he didn't know.  
  
"Harry? It's me, Seamus." came the voice on the other side.  
  
"Oh, okay, I'm coming." He said, and went to open the door. Bu twhen he did so, Seamus seemed to be moving very stifly, as if he didn't want to take the next step. He raised his arm with wand in hand, although he really seemed to be fighting his own movements.  
  
"Av....Ava..Avvvvv." He was really fighting to not say the words.  
  
"Desino!" Came Dumbledor's voice from the right of Seamus, and he fell to the ground in a dead faint.  
  
Dumbledor came around the corner and lifted Seamus onto the couch inside.  
  
"Professor?" Hermione said in dismay. "I thought you said you wern't riding the train."  
  
"I wasn't. I apparated here when I saw Harry was in trouble."  
  
"How did you see that?" Ron asked.  
  
"I have my ways." He said with the same mischevious grin Fred and George use when talking about their map of Hogwarts. "Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't have come faster, but I had to leave Hogwarts grounds before I could Apparate. So let's be glad Seamus here was strong enough to resist the Imperius Curse for that long, or Harry wouldn't have had a chance."  
  
"He was under the Imperius Curse?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Yes, by one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, no doubt. That spell I used is designed to end any lasting spell such as that. Harry, I need to teach you how to use the Retexo charm to reverse those kinds of things."  
  
"I don't think I can learn to make it as powerful as you did very soon."  
  
"You learned the Patronus spell within one year, didn't you?" Dumbledor said with a bit of pride.  
  
"Well, yes. I did do that." Harry said, a bit embarased.  
  
"Yes, you did. I bet I can teach you to make it very powerful within three weeks. Especially if you have this." He held out a wand.  
  
"Why do you have my wand?" Harry asked, grabbing it quickly.  
  
"I don't. If you'll check your pockets, you'll find that your wand is exactly as you left it."  
  
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand, just were he had put it. He examined the second wand carefuly, and came to the conclusion that they were the exact same wands.  
  
"What's this mean?" He asked. "Why do I have two wands?"  
  
"It's a little experiment." Dumbledor said. "We thought that maybe if one wand made a wizard powerful, a duplicate of his wand would double his power. The first test seemed to have worked."  
  
"What was the first test?"  
  
"The Quidditch World Cup. When I used Retexo to fend of Voldemort's attack, I was using two wands."  
  
"That explains it." Hermione said, sounding relieved.  
  
"Oh, that reminds me." Dumbledor said. He puled out two more wands from his pocket and handed them to Ron and Hermione. "If you're going to be staying around Harry alot, you will also need extra protection."  
  
"Thanks, Professor." Said Hermione, testing out how it felt to hold two wands at a time.  
  
"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed as he used his two wands to transfigure his empty chocolate frog case ito a brand new chocolate frog.  
  
"I see Mr. Weasley has taken to the idea quite well." Dumbledor said with a chuckle.  
  
Seamus stirred on the couch.  
  
"Oh, yes. Onto this." Dumbledor said. "Harry, it is now clear that Voldemort will take any chance he can to kill you. And because of this I advise that you, under no circumstances-"  
  
Harry sensed what was coming.  
  
"Please don't ban me from Hogsmead. I'll be so bored."  
  
"No, Harry, I wouldn't do that again, you would just try to go anyway. No, what we need is for you to be guarded for as much of the time as possible. If you go to Hogsmeade, take your map. And be sure to look for the name Voldemort. If it appears at any time, come back to Hogwarts as fast as you can. For this, I suggest you take your Firebolt with you. If you wish, you can shrink it for easiest holding. He can't touch you when you're on grounds, you're to protected there. He shouldn't even try. If he does, we can probably hurt, or, if we're lucky, kill him."  
  
Harry took in his new rules with the air of someone reading the morning paper. He seemed to understand the amount of danger involved, and had no intention of getting himself into danger.  
  
"Well, now that we have that sorted out, I think I'll grab a couple of couldron cakes and head back to my office." With that Dumbledot was off down the corridor.  
  
They waited for a while until, just as they were pulling into the station, Seamus woke up. They departed quickly from the train, and got their own horseless carriage up to the front doors.  
  
*Author's Note*  
  
Does any girl out there think that someone fitting this description would be atractive:  
  
5' 8", Short, Blonde hair. Blue Eyes. Male. Big Head (So I'm told.) and Big Nose (So I'm Told)  
  
not to sound pathetic, I'm just curious. 


	7. Sorting Ceremony

Chapter 7: Sorting Ceremony  
  
They went into the Great Hall and took their seats. After a few minutes, Proffesor McGonagal came in with the new first years, and the old stool with the sorting hat. She placed in front of the teacher's table, and let it begin it's anual Sorting Song. A rip opened wide like a mouth, and it began:  
  
Welcome, students, to the school that will teach you magic.  
  
But behind this pretty face, is a story much more tragic.  
  
Yes, those old four founders, did teach the ones they chose.  
  
With Gryffindor, the bravest were seen best among the throws.  
  
For Hufflepuff, she did enjoy, those in work and toil.  
  
For Ravenclaw, the smartest ones, grew best within the soil.  
  
And Slytherin, ambition was, the best and greatest prize.  
  
But Gryffindor and Slytherin, did not see eye-to-eye.  
  
When I was taught then how to talk, some angry words were said.  
  
'Twas a quarrel 'tween the two, and both did wind up dead.  
  
So now that they're no longer here, you new students will find.  
  
Their quarrel made a rift 'tween some, but you may form a bind.  
  
There was the usual applause among the crowd, and the sorting began.  
  
Student after student passed through, some more confident than others, but it didn't interest Harry and Ron, who sat talking about the House Quidditch team. Then a name caught their attention.  
  
"Malfoy, Eric." McGonogal said. The boy walked up to the stool and placed the hat over his eyes. There was a slight pause and then:  
  
"GRIFFINDOR!"  
  
There was a small double-take from McGonogal as she saw a Malfoy go to her house table. Harry beconed Eric over to sit with them. He came over and sat down next to them.  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone here." He said, rather sheepishly.  
  
"That's okay. I'm Harry, and this is Ron. She's Hermione."He said, motioning towards each of them in turn. Then, "We're fifth years."  
  
"Oh, okay. Was there a reason you wanted me to come over here?" He asked akwardly.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Harry said."I just wanted to know; are related to Draco Malfoy?"  
  
"Yes, he's my cousin. I really don't like him." He said. "Why?"  
  
"He's just one of the most annoyng people here, and I was surprised that any relative of his coul get into anything except Slytherin."  
  
"Oh. Well, actually, Uncle Lucius and his family are kind of the family disgrace. The rest of the Malfoys are all normal."  
  
"Well, that's interesting."Ron said impatiently. "Now, are there any first years you met on the train?"  
  
"Yes, there's Kyle right there." He said, pointing at the end of the table. Then, getting the point, "I'm going to sit by him."  
  
"Okay, bye." Harry said, as Eric walked away. Then, to Ron. "That was mean."  
  
"What, I don't like first years. They're annoying." He said.  
  
"You know, we were first years at one time." Hermione said.  
  
"Well, I'm sure that we were annoying then." Ron said, with an air of obviousness.  
  
Then Fred came up behind Harry.  
  
"Harry, team meeting. Common room tonight."  
  
So, after the feast, and the beggining-of-year anouncements, they all headed off to their respective dormiotries, and after everyone had gone to bed, Harry and the Gryffindor house team stayed up.  
  
"Alright, on to business." Said Angelina, not wasting any time.  
  
"Whoa!" said Fred. "How about a 'Hello, how are you doing?' I want to get to know you, Angelina, I mean really, and I'm not just saying that."  
  
"Shut up Fred, I'm being serious. We need to talk about the team. We need to have tryouts for two new team members tommorow."  
  
"Two?" Harry said. "I thought we just needed to replace the keeper."  
  
"No, Katie moved to America because her muggle dad had a 'job oportunity', or something."  
  
"Oh, okay."  
  
"Now, I understand that Ron wants to try out for the team." Angelina said. "What can he bring to the team?"  
  
"He's got a great mind." George said, with a great imitation of Angelina's business-like manner. "And a heart for the game that would blow you away. And-" He started fake crying. "I just love him so much, and these are his last few days on earth, and, and. Oh, I can't go on!"  
  
"Shut up!" She said, barely keeping a straight face. "Honestly, how can he help us?"  
  
"He has a Firebolt." Harry said.  
  
"Really?" Angelina said, suddenly very keen to the idea of Ron being on the team. "So now we have two Firebolts on the team, that will do us some good."  
  
"Corrrection." Fred said "We have four. George and I bought somethis summer as well."  
  
"Wow, this is going to be a great year for us." She said, considerably cheered up.  
  
George gave a questioning glance to Harry, and he responded with a slight shaking of the head to indicate he wanted to keep his Firebolts a surprise until the first practice.  
  
"Now there's the matter of the new captain. Now, I think we can immidiately say that Fred and George are out of the running."  
  
"Hey! That's not fair!" Fred said indignantly.  
  
"You two are twins. If we choose one over the other, it could cause a fight, and we jsut don't need that." She said.  
  
"I guess that makes sense." George said, with a fake dejected sigh.  
  
"Now, I don't want to be captain." Angelina said.  
  
"Coulda fooled me." Fred said, in a loud whisper.  
  
"Neither do I." said Alicia.  
  
"About time you started talking!" Fred said. "I thought you were dead or something."  
  
"Anyway." Angelina said, with a look at Fred. "That only leaves you, Harry. What do you say, wanna be captain?"  
  
"Sure." Harry said. "Which reminds me. I've got a new play tester for us. It's much better than that old thing Oliver used."  
  
"Well, go get it, you lughead." Said George.  
  
"Alright, just wait." He ran up to his room and grabbed his miniature Quidditch game out of his trunk.  
  
They spent another ten minutes looking over it and playing with it until they all went to bed. 


End file.
